{"id":763644,"date":"2021-05-01T07:31:19","date_gmt":"2021-05-01T11:31:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=763644"},"modified":"2021-05-01T07:39:35","modified_gmt":"2021-05-01T11:39:35","slug":"kindred-spirits-oscar-winning-documentary-my-octopus-teacher-celebrates-worth-of-other-species","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=763644","title":{"rendered":"KINDRED SPIRITS: Oscar-winning documentary ‘My Octopus Teacher’ celebrates worth of other species"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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No matter which of the film's messages resonates most, whether it's about the environment, our personal relationships, or the assumptions we've made about animal intelligence, the word is getting out.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\n

JEN REEDER:<\/strong> In the opening moments of the Netflix documentary \u201cMy Octopus Teacher\u201d \u2014 which took home a 2021 Oscar for best documentary feature \u2014 an octopus glides overhead while the soothing voice of filmmaker Craig Foster intones: \u201cA lot of people say that an octopus is like an alien. But the strange thing is, as you get closer to them, you realize you\u2019re very similar in a lot of ways. You\u2019re stepping into this completely different world, such an incredible feeling, and you feel as though you\u2019re on the brink of something extraordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Foster\u2019s journey to understand an octopus and himself \u2014 and the film that documents it \u2014 is indeed extraordinary. Viewers witness a man coping with exhaustion and burnout regain purpose by developing a relationship with an octopus in the Great African Sea Forest off the tip of South Africa…<\/p>\n

Words can\u2019t do the film justice; viewing it is a sensory experience. But that hasn\u2019t stopped the Twitter-verse (or admittedly, this writer) from trying. Something about the film resonates deeply with both critics and the public. Comments range from \u201cI\u2019m never eating calamari again!!!!\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m in tears\u201d to \u201cReally well done film that highlights some of the amazingness that exists in nature\u201d and \u201cThe world would be a better place if every human watched this stunning piece of filmmaking”…<\/p>\n

Pippa Ehrlich, director and editor of \u201cMy Octopus Teacher\u201d and a member of the Sea Change Project, a nonprofit dedicated to connecting human beings to the wild and protecting the Great African Sea Forest… was so passionate about the project that she quit her job to work on the documentary… \u201cWhat I loved about this story is there was a story of positivity and hope that involved human beings and the natural world being in one place,\u201d she told TODAY. \u201cIt was an opportunity to expand people\u2019s perceptions of what the relationship between us and the wild can be”…<\/p>\n

Ehrlich has been surprised and delighted by feedback for \u201cMy Octopus Teacher,\u201d particularly hearing Jane Goodall say her favorite films are \u201cThe Lord of the Rings\u201d and \u201cMy Octopus Teacher.\u201d In another touching instance, a 6-year-old girl in India took the film\u2019s trailer and spliced in her own narration, sharing everything she learned about octopuses from the documentary.<\/p>\n

“I’ve read thousands of messages,” she said. Ehrlich hopes the film reminds viewers how important it is to stay connected with nature, and not just to depend on it for food and breathing \u2014 \u201cevery second breath that you breathe into your lungs comes from oxygen that is created by our oceans,\u201d she noted \u2014 but our mental well-being as well…<\/p>\n

\u201cTo really put energy and time into nurturing our relationship with the wild is one of the most \u2014 and I\u2019m speaking from experience now \u2014 one of the most reassuring and fulfilling things that you can do with your time,\u201d she said. \u201cIt makes you think very differently about how we consume natural resources. It makes you think carefully about what this incredible natural system is giving to us, and what we can do in return, in terms of having a more reciprocal, respectful, even reverential relationship with the living planet”… No matter which of the film’s messages resonates most \u2014 whether it’s about the environment, our personal relationships or the assumptions we’ve made about animal intelligence \u2014 word is getting out. SOURCE…<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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